Men and pregnancy: we often get left out of the discussion because all the attention is on the mother. Why should that be? We’ve got a hand in this, too. Shouldn’t someone be telling us how to cope with it? Well, hang on for a bit and I’ll try to do just that. As a father-to-be, here are some tips that I’ve picked up for surviving the turmoil.

One: Hold Her Hair (Unless She Doesn’t Want You To).

If she’s going to be miserable, then be miserable together, provided she doesn’t tell you to get the heck out of the bathroom while she’s busy retching up a turkey sandwich.

Two: Clean Up After Her.

Seriously, it’s just easier. When the sickness strikes — and it will at the most inopportune times (e.g. 20 minutes before the 7 p.m. movie when you’re just about to walk out the door, when you’re heading into a restaurant on date night, etc.) — take care of it. If she has to clean up after herself, it will just launch into a cycle of endless sickness and vomiting.

Three: Join Mom In Taking Ownership Of The Child.

If you’re a deadbeat dad — if you think it’s just her responsibility and don’t want to be a father because it’s too inconvenient and a lot of work — if you don’t go to the pregnancy classes with her — if you don’t rub her back or legs or whatever part of her is swelling — if you don’t talk to the baby while it’s in her stomach — then who do you think you are, because you’re not a man.

Four: Her Appointments Are Your Appointments.

As WebMD contributor Martin Downs writes, you’ll have about 15 routine prenatal visits if all goes well: “once a month until 28 weeks, three or four times up to week 36, and once a week for the last month,” he states.

Start planning for them from the beginning. Join her on these days, and it’ll help her sanity knowing she has your support. If she’s sane, chances are you will be during the home stretch.

Five: Take On More Housework.

Your partner’s body is being terraformed to support life. She’s carrying around 20 extra pounds at all times of the day. Her stomach is being pushed up towards her throat by an expanding uterus. To get any release, she has to pass something the size of a watermelon through something the size of a garden hose. (And you probably couldn’t do it.)

That concludes 36 to 40 weeks of discomfort. She’ll get to the point where she can’t bend over without it being a huge production. So take on the dishes, laundry, and any other housework that needs doing, okay?

Finally: Do Not Complain In Equal Or Greater Portions As She Does.

It’s not easy going through what you’re going through, but it’s a lot tougher on her. If you have to complain, do it to a close friend or start talking to yourself.

Men, what pregnancy tips helped you survive? Share yours in the comments section!

Your little baby is no longer the little infant you held in your arms. He’s now a bundle of energy – bouncing around and exploring everything around him. Soon he will outgrow his nappies and will need to learn how to relieve himself in the right places.

So, at what point do you actually know that it’s time to toilet train (or potty train) your child? Some say it’s best to start when the child is between 18 – 24 months old, but you really can’t put a benchmark on it. Experts believe the best time to teach a child is when he is ready.

Image source: Flickr

Once you have established that your child is ready for potty training, here are some tips to make the toilet training sessions fun for you and for your child.

If you have a boy, point them towards a tree or a small plant when they start to do a wee and say that he is watering the plants. Make sure though, that you eventually wean him out of ”watering the plants” to wee-ing in the toilet. Watering plants is only acceptable for toddlers, not pre-schoolers.

Since girls are generally supposedly fussy about making a mess, they are often more interested in learning how to use the toilet properly. Try dressing your daughter in a skirt or a pretty frock while she’s learning.

Use proper underpants as early as possible. Kids learn faster when they can distinguish the difference between clean underpants and wet undies. When they know how uncomfortable it is to be walking around in wet undies (or how much time changing nappies takes out of their play time), they will feel motivated to go to the toilet when they have to.

If your child is able to control his bladder, but not his bowels, do not be overly concerned. Most children are unwilling to do a poo in the toilet and would wait until a nappy is on. If you know that your child is ready for a poo, sit him on the toilet for a few minutes and encourage him to move his bowels. If nothing happens, just put a nappy on him. He probably isn’t ready to poo in the toilet yet.

Soon, you will have to leave the house with the child dressed only in his underpants (no nappies!). When this time comes, make sure you have a spare set (or 2) of clothes in the car and don’t go on ambitious outings that will entail traveling for hours on end. Go outdoors – visit a park, or the beach, or just walk around the block. Once your child becomes more in control of his facilities, you can go out for longer trips.

Finally, while you’re training your child to use the toilet, you should take this opportunity to teach your child about proper hygiene as well. Click on this link to view a fun nursery rhyme you can sing to your kids about washing their hands after using the toilet.

When your baby cries in the middle of the night, it is a natural instinct to run to your new baby and comfort her. After a few rounds, this can leave you exhausted, and that causes stress.

Being stressed can foster symptoms of depression, and that can cause issues in your marriage. New research suggests that pursuing sleep training with your infant will give everyone more sleep and an improved lifestyle. [Read more…]

As a new parent, you probably want to spend as much time with your little one, however, the realities of life will eventually creep in. Yes, some parents are able to stay at home and take care of their children on a full-time basis, but not everyone has that luxury. If you’re a regular parent, you’ll eventually have to go back to work and will need to entrust the care of your precious child to others.

Let’s break out the bubbly – rather, sparkling grape juice (remember, you’re pregnant so no alcoholic beverages for the soon-to-be mum), you’re having a baby! A gazillion things must be going through your head and just don’t know where to start! Whew, take a minute to step back, breathe deeply and organize your thoughts. Yes, your life will change but that doesn’t happen when the baby is born – it starts NOW!